Johnston Press reports £300m loss after huge newspaper writedown

The publisher of titles including the Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and the national i has reported a £300m pre-tax loss due to a tough advertising market and writing down the value of its 200-plus local newspapers.

The company said the non-cash writedown related to a string of acquisitions in the early part of this century, such as the Scotsman newspaper group, which was acquired for £160m in 2005. The writedown reduces the value of Johnston Press’s publishing titles to £120m, excluding the i, and other print assets to £20m.